Chapter 6 - The Council of Women|
The emergency assembly was held in a private residence outside Boston, far from the Viscari estate and its cameras.
Seven women sat around a circular table.
They were not all wives. Some were widows. One had inherited her family's business after her husband was imprisoned. Another had spent thirty years negotiating agreements between men who believed they were incapable of compromise.
They were the women who remembered the old code.
Vivien entered without jewelry.
Kanti waited near the door, his expression grave.
"You've brought us back into a world we thought we had left behind," he said.
"No," Vivien replied. "The world never left us."
She placed her mother's journal on the table.
The oldest woman present, Isabella Romano, opened it to the succession pages.
"The Donna council was created to prevent a single family from controlling every decision," Isabella explained. "The necklace identifies the woman empowered to convene the council. It does not create that power."
One of the younger representatives frowned.
"Then why did Damian believe he could transfer it?"
"Because someone convinced him that tradition was decoration."
Vivien looked around the table.
"I am not asking you to punish Damian for humiliating me. I am asking you to review his decisions and determine whether he has endangered the syndicate."
Kanti nodded.
"That is a distinction worth making."
The council reviewed the evidence: unauthorized transfers, the attempted restructuring of the legacy trust, and messages showing that Seline had been seeking control of the old voting shares.
But one document caused the greatest concern.
It was a draft agreement between Thomas Bell and an offshore investment group. The agreement transferred control of several Viscari assets to a corporation that had no known business history.
The corporation's registered owner was a woman named Helena Vale.
Vivien recognized the name.
"Who is she?"
Isabella's face tightened.
"Your father's sister."
"My aunt died before I was born."
"That is what your family told you."
The room fell silent.
Isabella explained that Helena had been accused of betraying the Ashcrofts decades earlier. She had disappeared after a dispute over the family trust, and her death had been announced without independent confirmation.
Vivien stared at the document.
"Why is she working with Thomas Bell?"
"We don't know."
"Then we find out."
The council voted unanimously to freeze recognition of Seline as Donna until the trust could be reviewed.
They also authorized Vivien to convene a full summit and present evidence concerning Damian's leadership.
As the meeting ended, Kanti approached her.
"There is something I need to tell you."
Vivien waited.
"Your father came to me the week before he died. He believed someone inside the family was arranging a succession without your mother's consent."
"Did he name the person?"
"No."
"Did he leave evidence?"
Kanti reached inside his coat and removed a small brass key.
"He gave me this and told me to return it to you when you were ready to understand the necklace."
Vivien took it.
"What does it open?"
May you like
Kanti looked at her with quiet sadness.
"The room where your mother made her final decision."
